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Category Archives: Hiring

Job boards are very useful when an employer is looking to fill a position. One overlooked key action for employers is to use job boards to actively shape and manage their employer brand. After all, what do job boards tend to excel at? Focusing and revealing a candidate audience to the employer! In essence, CareerBum acts as a marketing outlet for employer branding.

How can employers use job boards for branding? Here are several ways:

Develop and use a consistent look and feel for all company job postings

Send targeted emailsto candidates that promote the core reputation, benefits, and uniqueness of the employer

Own some of the job board’s ’real estate’ – a consistent home page presence, or ongoing messaging inside the job alerts or an advertisement

Use repetition and multiple delivery methods (email, web, text, career fairs, etc.) to build the employer brand in the job board’s audience. Make those candidates yours.

Summer is quickly approaching and many college students are starting to think of landing an internship. Some students most likely have already secured one, but if you haven’t, there is still time. Here are some tips on how to secure your summer internship.

Start now.

The ideal time has passed to start seeking an internship, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities out there. Start now. Think about where you want to be and what type of internship you are interested in. To help you narrow your scope, ask yourself: Do you want to work for a company or nonprofit? Do you want to work for the government? Can you accept an unpaid internship? Do you want to look where you are now, or in a different location?

Research and gather applications.

After you know what you want to do and where you want to be, start to seek opportunities that closely match your goal internship. Some processes will require written essays, letters of recommendation and resumes. Find all the opportunities you can and begin collecting the necessary pieces of each application. Keep these in one spot and develop a spreadsheet for tracking. Be aware of any deadlines looming.

Develop a network.

Networking is always a good idea. Whether you are looking to land a job or an internship, or even if you have a job, a professional network can be very supportive. Speak with people who are already in the industry you are looking to enter. Try to gain insights that will help you understand what you need to do to enter this career field and connect with individuals who could possibly help you gain an interview.

Be interview ready.

Interview processes are greatly varied these days. Some may be focused on your resume, some may have you take assessments to understand your ability to be a “cultural fit” and some may be technical. Be prepared. Research as much as you can online and don’t be afraid to ask employees who currently work at the organization. Stay current with any industry developments, changes or advancements.

You go to considerable trouble and expense to identify, interview, and hire great employees for your organization. So retaining them should also be a top priority. Luckily, most good retention practices are inexpensive to implement.

Effective retention

To understand how to retain good employees, you first need to know what they’re looking for. Today, the best employees want:

Career development opportunities and a chance to grow in their chosen field

Regular feedback on how both they and the company are doing

A chance to contribute directly to the organization and be recognized for doing so

Flexible work schedules that recognize their need for work/life balance

A good salary or wage and an opportunity to increase it over time

Benefits tailored to their individual needs

Key strategies

Good retention starts from the time you hire employees to the time they leave your company. See how tweaking some of your employment practices can have a big impact on employee retention:

Recruitment and hiring. It’s worth spending time and effort on recruiting. When there’s a good match between employees and your organization, retention is less likely to be an issue.

Orientation and onboarding. Again, it’s worth having good practices in place. Treating employees right in the critical early stages of employment has been proven to enhance retention.

Training and development. Training and development are key factors in helping employees grow with your company and stay marketable in their field.

Performance evaluation. When employees know what they’re doing well and where they need to improve, both they and your organization benefit.

Pay and benefits. While today many employees tend to rate factors such as career development higher than pay, good pay and benefits still count.

Internal communication. Effective communication can help ensure that employees to want to stay with your company. Employees need to know—and be reminded on a regular basis—how the organization is doing and what they can do to help.

Termination and outplacement. Employees who leave on good terms are much more likely to recommend your company, and in doing so, help you attract and retain future employees.

Engage employees to increase retention

Engaging your employees—that is, making sure that they are committed and productive in their work—can benefit you as much as it benefits employees.

If you hire the right employees, chances are good they’ll be engaged—committed to your business and happy in their work. But to ensure ongoing engagement, you as an employer must play a major role, particularly when it comes to communication. Consider these five strategies:

Be clear on what your business stands for. Your company’s mission and vision and brand must be front and center in everything you do.

Communicate well and often. Your employees need to know—on a continuous basis—how both they and your company are doing.

Understand generational differences. To get the best out of all your employees, know what motivates different generations.

Find out what your employees need. Ask your employees on a regular basis how they’re doing, and be ready to follow up on their input.

Empower all employees to do their best. Provide the leadership, resources, and training your employees need to realize their potential.

Understanding what engages employees can help during all phases of the employment cycle—from recruitment to training to performance assessment and beyond. It’s also much easier to retain employees who are engaged and committed to your company’s success.

Source: CareerOneStop Business Center, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor

Your company has a job opening with no interest from job seekers. Is it possible that your job ad could use some help? Here are some tips to writing effective ads for hiring the right person the first time:

Use an Informative Job TitleThe job title really isn’t the place to get creative. The job title is the first piece of the puzzle that job seekers see and will make a quick decision on whether or not to read on. Use a title that best describes the position and utilizes common keywords (ex: sales, accounting, customer service).

Explain Your Company Culture What makes your company so great to work for? Explain your company culture and highlight your signature attributes in your job ad. This job ad is, after all, an advertisement for your company. Highlight perks offered, unique benefits and why anyone would love to work for your company.

Give a Descriptive Job SummaryRepresent a full scope of the functions the successful candidate will be completing as well as what their role will be within your company or organization. Don’t just list tasks, make it all encompassing and inviting.

Describe What Your Company NeedsWhile most applicants know that you are not going to find someone that meets all of your expectations in an employee, if you are clear about the skill set that is necessary to perform the job and which additional skills would be valuable, you will cut down on the time it takes to sift through résumé’s after you place your ad.

Group Information
There is a lot of information to include when posting a job, but a complicated posting can deter job seekers from reading or applying. Keep your information grouped in a logical manner using bullet points and breaks to make it easier to read and follow, as well as bold, italics and underlines to make it appear more interesting.

Make it Easy to Take ActionOnce you have the attention of candidates, you want to present an easy to execute way to apply. This could be a direct link to an online application, an email to send a resume to, or use the CareerBum.com site for a one click application for job seekers.

Share the Job PostingAfter you have finished writing your job post, share the information on your network. Post it to your social media sites, post it in your foyer, share it with your employees to repost on their social networking sites and share it off of CareerBum.com’s page.

Phone interviews. To some the thought is horrifying, to others it seems like a waste of time, the first step in a long process. Realistically, phone interviews are a very important first step, if you don’t succeed here, there won’t be additional interviews. Here are some phone interview tips to ensure you are on the path to a face-to-face interview:

Be prepared! Have a copy of your resume long with the job description in front of you during the call. Prepare to have questions written up and in front of you before the conversation starts. In addition, have the company information in front of you so you are prepared to discuss in full what products/services they offer.

Restrict phone features. Whether it’s call waiting or an answering machine for an additional phone line, turn off all your phone accessories. These noises can be a total distraction.

Use a landline if possible. Remove the chance of experiencing choppy cell service. Making the call from a landline leaves less room for misinterpretation and cuts the odds of disconnection to a minimum. Also be sure to use a high-quality phone.

Call from home. Making the call from a comfortable, controlled environment will allow you to keep noise to a minimum, speak at a reasonable volume and give you fewer distractions. Be sure to have your pets or kids (or any other noise makers) in the care of someone else during this time.

Make the time for a full interview. Many job seekers make the mistake of trying to fit a phone interview during their lunch hour at work. Disaster could strike if the interviewer is running a few minutes late. Also, the longer the call, the better you’re doing! Most phone interviews last only a few minutes, but if you end up hitting it off with the interviewer, the last thing you want to do is have to cut them off.

Answer the phone professionally and use your name. Avoid an awkward start to the call; take charge by answering the phone by stating your name. This lets the person on the other line know exactly who you are and saves them the trouble of asking for you. Know exactly how you will greet the caller and start the conversation.

Smile while you talk. Smiling when you speak brings energy and excitement to your voice. When speaking on the phone, your voice actually loses about half of its energy during transmission. Make sure your enthusiasm gets across by overcompensating.

Watch your movements. We each have our own phone habits. Some pace, some stand like statues, some may even lounge on the couch. During a phone interview hold your body in an upright position and don’t be afraid to use your hands to be expressive. If you are the type of person who is on the move when on the phone, give yourself an enclosed area that is large enough so you avoid wondering around the house.

Use the mute button. If you need to take a sip of water or handle a situation outside of the interview, the mute button can be your best friend. On most phones, the person on the other line will never know you hit the button. However, it’s always a good idea to test “mute” before the call to see if the person on the other line gets an indication that it’s been activated.

Honesty is the best policy. If a major distraction occurs during the phone interview, mention it. Your honesty will likely be appreciated; after all, the person on the other line is human too and has likely encountered a similar situation. The worst thing you can do is attempt to cover up something that takes you out of the moment, because it could make you look like you weren’t paying attention.

Ask. The interviewer is closing the call but there has been no talk of a next step. Speak up! Express your enthusiasm for moving forward and ask about the next step. If an in-person interview is not scheduled at the end of the call, find out when you can follow up with the employer. Be sure to ask for contact information (name, phone number, and email address) of the person who will be your contact.

Speak and write your gratitude. Unlike a face-to-face interview, there’s no commute afterwards. Send a thank-you note an hour or two after the phone interview. The goal of a phone interview is to get a face-to-face meeting; don’t be bashful about making this request. If you can’t send the email right away, make several notes about the call while they’re fresh in your mind. These will come in handy when you send the thank-you note later in the day.

Avoid benefit and money questions. Now is not the time to ask about benefits or salary. However, the interviewer knows you might attempt to do this and may try to force the issue. After all, determining an employee’s desired salary is part of the filtering process, which is why they are conducting a phone interview in the first place. Try to keep your answer vague by telling the employer that you need a better understanding of the total compensation package until you can state your desired salary. Phrases like, “I’m negotiable,” “I’d rather discuss compensation in person,” or “I currently make X but am looking to make Y” can often get the interviewer to move on.

While keeping all of these tips in mind, don’t lose sight of your phone interview mission: to earn an in-person meeting!

Source: 17 Tips to Ace Your Next Phone Interview, by George Arms; Acing the Phone Interview: Preparation Is Key, by Marc Cenedella; Phone Interview Etiquette Can Propel You to the Next Step in the Hiring Process, by Maureen Crawford Hentz

Seasoned hiring professionals understand that ongoing success depends on the quality of employees at all levels in an organization. But how can you be sure that you staff with employees who are the best cultural fit and brightest talent? In the broadest sense, there are multiple methods of improving employee job performance. Along with compensation and training functions, recruitment and hiring is implicit in the on-boarding and eventual success of the people in the organization and ultimately the company itself. But how can you be sure you are starting with the right people?

Modern employment assessment tools improve the selection of employees because they allow hiring managers to view numerous, relevant candidate qualifications and make better-informed hiring decisions. The analysis of specific qualifications leads to more accurate hiring decisions because more relevant information may be gathered prior to the interview as well as throughout the hiring process.

Using assessments will help you create an effective screening process that makes certain the applicant has the basic necessary experience and background as well as determining if they possess the core traits and attitudes you have found to be predictive of success in that job. Pre-Hire Assessments will alert you to counter-productive behaviors, and determine engagement, Job Fit and tell you how to train new employees.
You’ll find higher quality candidates before spending time interviewing them.

Post-Hire Assessments will help you coach for better performance, identify and develop leadership and determine Job Fit for promotions and lateral moves as well as help with outplacement.

All of this will help you to stay competitive.

In just a few you can find out how our assessments best meet your needs. Our assessments are affordable, deliver high quality and simplicity of use. Many clients are set-up and using their online accounts the same day.

If you would like to learn more about how assessments could help your organization, let us know and we’ll be happy to set up a demo for you to check it out! We can also provide you with specific samples of the information our solution provides for your particular industry or positions.

Make the most out of your time, effort and money while ensuring that you will find the best candidate for your position by writing compelling job ads. The job description of many companies hasn’t evolved since the days of the newspaper classified ads, from the same boring text to the extensive list of requirements to the bullet points that do nothing to actually entice the best candidates to apply.

A company job ad should be treated as an advertisement. These ads are your initial recruiting effort, and the first thing a potential candidate sees. A good first impression is essential in a hiring climate. To write better ads, you must tell a better story.

1. What is your ideal candidate looking for?

Who do you want to apply for the position? Connect with what job seekers are looking for and let them know what you have to offer. If you offer a unique work environment, career advancement opportunities, a good work/life balance, a great location or high industry compensation, write about it! Let them know what sets you apart from the rest.

2. Focus on the ‘Why’ and not the requirements.

Don’t use your entire job post to list the necessary skills for the job. More than likely your top candidates are not going to have every single skill on your list, so you could be wasting space. Instead, write about what makes your company unique, why a job seeker should choose to work for your company and why the job is important. Job seekers value a worthy challenge.

3. Keep lists short!

Focus on marketing to top people, not cutting out the unqualified applicants. Concentrate on the vital skills for the position, but keep the bullet points to a minimum. You don’t need to mention that you are looking for hard-working people who are good team players. They know.

4. Get personal about your company.

Job seekers are not only looking for a challenging career, but also a work environment that is a good fit for them. Don’t leave your company culture out of the ad. Cover the basics and be honest. If you offer a four day work week, child care, tele-commuting, profit sharing and what you do for fun. Keep the ad true to your culture.